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“Debt relief is a broad term, encompassing a number of solutions,” says Howard Dvorkin, chairman of Debt.com. “It’s kind of like asking, ‘What is a diet?’ There are as many ways to shed debt as there are to shed weight.”

“If you have access to a 401(k),” said Howard Dvorkin, chairman at Debt.com, “then that’s easily the most lucrative safe space for your hard-earned cash.”

“Start with the check’s issuing bank — the name of the bank printed on the check — if you need to cash a check without a bank account. For example, a check from someone who banks at Chase could be cashed at your local Chase branch, if one is available,”

“The account needs to have enough money in the payer’s account to cover it, and the payee will need to show a government-issued ID to cash the check,”

“I can only speculate why defaults are suddenly up in this age group, but I wonder if student loans play a part,”
“After three years of frozen payments due to the pandemic, October marked the thaw. Coupled with inflation, that could be the one-two punch that drove up defaults,”

However, you should review the fine print of any loan you already have or plan to get to see if it includes a prepayment penalty. If it does, you could see the fee in one of three ways, said Howard Dvorkin, chairman of Debt.com.

“First, [the lender] can charge you a percentage of your loan balance. That’s usually around 2%,” he said. “Second, they can charge you a flat fee. Or third — and worst of all — they can actually charge you all the interest you’re saving by paying early.”

Dvorkin said, “You don’t have to think so big. You can also pay off your loan early by nibbling away at it every month.”

“Credit card companies make more money when the minimum payment is lower, so more money goes towards the interest rate and less towards the principal,”

“Every credit card company is mandated by law to give you the credit card agreement,”

“When you pay late, credit card companies can hit you with higher interest rates that won’t drop,”

“The downside to prepaid cards is that they have fees for activating and transferring money on to them,” he said. “Generally speaking, they are good to have available as a backup option if you are intending to use cash for your purchases.”

“But a secured credit card actually builds your credit,” he said. “Of course, you have to make timely payments, but it’s like a set of training wheels for your financial bicycle.”

“Bankruptcy filings are increasing because three costly factors have converged. First, inflation may not be rising as fast as before, but it’s not going down either. The longer inflation persists, the weaker Americans’ finances become,”

“Second, student loan payments that were frozen for three and a half years were unfrozen in October, meaning 45 million people suddenly owe hundreds of dollars a month. Third, with credit card interest rates at record levels (an average of 25%) it is no longer possible to use plastic to fill income gaps.”

“Most of your credit score is determined by a simple measurement called ‘payment history.’ All that means is: ‘Do you pay your bills on time?’ ”

“(This) represents 35% of your score. So the easiest way to improve your credit score is to pay on time. The second most important factor is how much you owe: if you have high balances, your score will go down. This is 30% of your credit score. None of the other factors are more than half of that. So focus on those two things and you will see great results,”

“I don’t know how we got by without them, because they didn’t exist when I started as a certified public accountant three decades ago. They sound like a debit card: “Make a deposit and you can only collect the amount equal to that deposit. But a secured credit card actually strengthens your credit. Of course, you have to make timely payments, but it’s like a set of training wheels for your financial bike.”

“You’ll need to look over your budget — if you already have debt, you will need to be prepared to take on the additional debt of a mortgage, explains Howard Dvorkin, CPA and chairman of Debt.com. You will also want to monitor your credit score, which will help you secure a mortgage loan, and educate yourself on the overall costs of homeownership. This will include insurance, property taxes, utilities and maintenance.”

“Extended warranties are intentionally confusing and limiting,” he explains. “If that washing machine breaks? It might be chalked up to ‘regular wear and tear,’ which is rarely covered.”

If extended warranties were such great deals, he reasons, why do salespeople push them so hard? “Obviously, they’re cash cows for everyone but you.”

“You can’t get out of debt if you don’t understand what’s keeping you there,” Debt.com’s chairman Howard Dvorkin told Fox Business.

“I hate store credit cards the way the Grinch hates children’s gifts,” said Howard Dvorkin, CPA, chairman of Debt.com. “They’re so costly, they should be classified as a weapon of financial destruction.”

“These cards come with expensive offers in order to get the card into people’s hands, and that’s not by accident,” said Howard Dvorkin, a CPA and chairman of Debt.com. “It’s very enticing when you’re standing at the register and the clerk says, ‘Can I interest you in a credit card you don’t have to make payments on for a year?’ ”

“Americans are addicted to credit cards, no question,” said Howard Dvorkin, a certified public accountant and the chairman of Debt.com.

Howard Dvorkin, chairman of Debt.com, points out that the annual percentage rate for retail credit cards is now 28.93% on average. Some retailers go higher; for example, Michael’s and Burlington charge an APR of 33.24% on their store cards.

Used correctly, though, promotions use can “be part of a smart strategy to save money on large purchases like home appliances, furniture or a new computer,” according to Dvorkin.